“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system.” -John Gall

I built a pretty good daily tracking template, and I evolved it over time. It’s serving me pretty well now. I’d like to show you the evolution.

Version 0 – I realized that tracking my time would be a good thing. I started writing down just one or two things per day.

Here’s what my first day of tracking looked like:

26 May – Success

Stretched, situps, pushups.
Took a vitamin.
Did some writing on Critical Thinking.

Version 1 – About a month later, I formalized my daily tracking with some things I wanted to pay attention to every day. I created a template for the first time.

**THIS TEMPLATE RETIRED 18 JULY 2010**

General things to reflect on:
*Be decisive. Look at it once, make a decision, done.
*Live in the borderlands, awareness of the end in my heart

Time awake:
Total sleep:
Vitamin?:
Stretching?:
Walk/run?:
Situps?:
Listen to audio?:
Food?:
Most key project:
Next milestones:
Objectives for today:
Time started:
Result:

Checklist:
*What are my key life goals? Spent 5 minutes on this.
*Is my urgent to do list clear?
*Is my people to do list clear?
*Look at my current to-do list. Is any of that suitable to do?
*The second most important project right now is SebastianMarshall.com. Do something with that?

What is most important?

Now consider…
*Networking, friends, counsel, helping people, factions.
*What do I need to learn?
*How to get cash?
*Consorting.
*Habits/Life Goals?
*Brainstorming

End of day:
What did I do right to move me towards my goals?
What would I do differently if I had the day to live over?

–Plan tomorrow

Version 2 – The version 1 template worked pretty well. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to pay attention to, so I listed some things and said, “Now consider…” which meant just think and try on those things. Eventually I nailed down some things that were important to pay attention to, and I formalized that into version 2.

——————————————-
GENERAL:
*Be decisive. Look at it once, make a decision, done.
*Don’t check email unless I’m ready to write back immediately
*Set alarm at end of day
*Stop and reflect periodically
——————————————-
START OF DAY:
Time awake:
Total sleep:
Vitamin C and Fish oil:
Stretching?:
Walk/run?:
Brush/floss:
Situps?:
Listen to audio?:
Food?:
Breathe:
Borderlands:
——————————————-
MOST KEY ITEM:
Next milestones:
Objectives for today:
Time started:
Result:
——————————————-
PEOPLE:
Blog post?:
New People (FB, Twitter, emails):
Current people:
Help someone:
Consorting:
Emails in box, start:
Emails in box, finish (and – why they there?):
——————————————-
GENERAL:
*What are my key life goals? Spent 5 minutes on this.
*Expenses for the day (estimate)?
*Cash gotten or worked towards today
——————————————-
END OF DAY:
What did I do right to move me towards my goals?
What would I do differently if I had the day to live over?
Plan tomorrow

Version 3 – Version 2 worked great, but I grew out of it. One of the biggest things was I was filling in my template with time tracking which was making things messy and hard to review later. I just cleaned up and made my template more pretty. I also renamed and made more accurate a few sections. I grew out of “Most Key Objective” because now I’ve often got 4-5 things to do in a day. So I mixed that in to think about at the start of the day and added a general time tracking section instead. Also, I added a “Challenges” section to pay attention to things I still get wrong some days.

——————————————-
REMEMBER:
*Be decisive. Look at it once, make a decision, done.
*Stop and reflect periodically
——————————————-
START OF DAY ROUTINE:
Time awake:
Total sleep:
Vitamin C and Fish oil:
Brush/floss:
Stretching:
Check calendar, anything interesting?
Is there anything time sensitive?
What is my most key objective for the day?
Walk/run:
Situps:
Listen to audio:
Food:
Breathe:
Borderlands:
Planning:
——————————————-
PEOPLE:
Blog post:
New People:
Current people:
Help someone:
Consorting:
Emails in box, start:
Emails in box, finish (and – why they there?):
——————————————-
TIME TRACKING:

——————————————-
CHALLENGES:
Did I start the day in my planner instead of online?
Did I only check email when I was ready to write back immediately?
Did I clear my active to do list before any screwing around?
Did I avoid getting into arguments with idiots online?
Did I only check a site once, then done with it?
Did I prioritize books/good learning instead of mindless surfing?
Did I avoid sugary food?
——————————————-
END OF DAY:
What are my key life goals? Spent 5 minutes on this.
Expenses for the day (estimate)?
Cash gotten or worked towards today:
What did I do right to move me towards my goals?
What would I do differently if I had the day to live over?
Plan tomorrow:
Set alarm:

Next up will be gradual tweaks and evolution of this template.

NOTES FOR PEOPLE THINKING OF TIME TRACKING

First, I highly recommend it. You’ll see improve your awareness of yourself, how you spend your time, your habits, and reach your goals faster if you do this.

Second, remember to start simple. This is to build up momentum and make a workable system you actually use. Do it every day. If you miss a day or two or three, fill in from memory as best as you can. If you fell off a cliff for a while, just reboot. Don’t beat yourself up too much – it solves nothing. We all fall off a cliff sometimes. Also, remember the gains made from living more purposefully are forever – the time you’ve spent well will remains well-spent even if you fall off for a while sometimes. Most people don’t even try, which is why most people don’t succeed.

Third, get inspired by mine, but definitely start smaller. Start with some easy wins and one straightforward yes/no question. My version zero was just writing down an idea or two. Add things slowly once you get the first version under control.

Fourth, I recommend you aim for roughly a 70% success rate, not perfection. At the end of the week, add more goals if you were perfect. If there was too much or you’re overwhelmed, pare down and go simpler. I like to aim for 70% success – this means I’m always succeeding at more of my conscious goals than not, but I’m also always at my limit and adding new things.

Fifth, remember to customize to fit your goals. “Borderlands” is a reference to the bushido concept of meditating on your death, being aware that you’ll die, and living your life aware of that. But then, I’ve read a lot about this, this wouldn’t necessarily be a great goal for anyone. Likewise, you might have goals related to taking care of your kids if you have kids, or if you already never eat sugar but want to cut down on salt you might want that. If “all sugar” is too hardcore for you, maybe try not to drink soda to start.

Finally, I like to do at least a tiny review at the end of the day. “What did I do correctly today to move me towards my goals? If I did the day over, what would I do differently?” Those are great questions, I got them from Brian Tracy. A little review like that, some paying attention to your habits, and some paying attention to whether you’re working on your most important things in your life are all good places to potentially start.

Have a think on this, feel free to come back and review the details and evolution of my daily tracking template. I’d strongly recommend trying it out, and I think you’ll be rather amazed by all the progress you can make.